Periodontitis disease by shaping the oral health and its impact on other clinical pathologies

Dr. Nares will be interviewed by scientific journalist Verónica Fuentes followed by a Q & A. Periodontal disease (PD) is an inflammatory condition of the specialized supporting structures of teeth that if left untreated, can result in tooth loss. The onset of PD is driven by dysbiosis of the normal host microbiome, while disease progression is caused by activation of the host innate and adaptive immune response along with disease enhancement by local and systemic risk factors.

Common manifestations of dysbiosis include chronic form or the less common, aggressive form of periodontitis. PD is the 6th most common disease globally and is linked to numerous systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and others. Significant pathological findings of PD are linked to aberrant periodontal inflammation impacting both oral and systemic tissues. Research in molecular mechanisms modulating periodontal inflammation is important for our understanding of mucosal immunity, especially oral mucosal immunity for the development and/or improvement of therapeutic approaches. Recent studies in my lab show that there is increasing evidence of the association between obesity with oral inflammation and dental disease.

Other studies performed in my lab confirmed that the herpesvirus is highly prevalent in periodontally disease tissues and expresses microRNAs that can regulate the host immune response. Furthermore, there are clear evidences regarding a bi-directional role of chronic periodontitis with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Indeed, periodontal therapy has a significant positive effect on glycosylated hemoglobin levels in diabetic patients. On the other hand, poor oral health is associated with negative effects during pregnancy. Finally, numerous studies, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses, suggest an important association between PD and ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and peripheral artery disease. The etiopathology of progressive periodontitis and its link to systemic disease will be discussed with Dr. Salvador Nares. Dr. Nares earned his DDS, PhD, and Certificate of Specialty in Periodontology from Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M University in Dallas and completed a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Oral Infection and Immunity Branch of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health (NIDCR/NIH). He also holds an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Nares is the principal investigator of research grants funded by the NIDCR and the American Academy of Implant Dentistry Research Foundation. His primary translational research is focus on the post-transcriptional modulation of mucosal immunity by microRNA and the role of antigen-presenting cells in the inflammatory response to periodontal pathogens. His clinical research interests include the histological and molecular characterization of early bone healing after dental implant placement and piezotome ultrasonic instrumentation.

Dr. Nares is the author of numerous articles and book chapters, reviewer of numerous scientific and clinical journals and he serves as Grant Reviewer for the NIH. He has been an invited moderator of the Astra Tech World Congress and session chair for the Astra Tech Platform for Exchange of Education and Research Symposium and he is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and Dental Implant Surgery, Fellow of the International Team for Implantology (ITI), and a member of the American Dental Association and the International and American Associations for Dental Research.